The period of awakening of nature and hibernating animals has arrived, but also, a little early, the period of reproduction and hatching. The Cras Enpa of Trieste welcomed a hare cub yesterday, debilitated and lying on its side. Immediately stabilized with therapies, he is recovering and has taken his first bottle meal with powdered milk to be reconstituted, suitable for ungulates and herbivores in general, he currently weighs 102 grams.
The Enpa of Trieste reminds us in a post how to behave in this period of births. “The hare cubs, in the majority of cases – recalls the Enpa of Trieste – are not abandoned by their mother who hides them in the grass, never all together (usually three are born), but at a distance from each other in a large semicircle. It is therefore risky and careless to take them from the grass, except in particular cases. The attention that must be paid is different if they are found injured or on the edge of areas busy with cars. Let us remember that hares abandon their refuge only at the last moment, they often remain still in the attempt to camouflage themselves to escape possible predation and are confident in their speed of escape. It is clear that this behavior, specialized over time, partially valid against natural predators, is ineffective against mechanical means, such as lawnmowers or clippers”.
Precautions to take when using lawnmowers and clippers
To limit the “victims” of activities in the lawns or gardens of houses, simple operational measures can be implemented which facilitate distancing from danger and increase the possibility of wild animals escaping. In mowing operations, for example, it is preferable to start work in the center of the lawn and then continue towards the periphery, in order to offer more escape routes to the animals which, otherwise, rather than heading towards “uncovered” areas where they cannot camouflage themselves, they remain immobile and victims of mechanical means. A further possible measure is to reduce the working speed, in which case the noise of the machine used and the slowness of the approach give the wildlife a greater chance of escaping.
